Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My 50's ranch home was remodeled in the 70s. It has lots of "mighty fine" touches, like wood paneling in my office, a weird welcome liquor bar built into what used to be an entry coat closet, and the kitchen -- ALL of the kitchen. Showcasing these areas would require some cleaning -- maybe I'll do it tomorrow... or Sunday...

Meanwhile, I donned my most "awesome" 70s-looking clothing and posed before the banana yellow 70 VW Squareback sculpture. [No, I still haven't put that thing on Craigslist.]

Can any of you ID the LP I'm holding?

Shake it!

ps: Since I'm wearing a hat, I'll be linking up with The Style Crone's new Hat Attack party. The first of the month, every month!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

This is only part one -- I have more to say!I was running so late for work, that couldn't finish...More on Thursday!:

Alicia calls her blog "Spashionista" for a reason. Her mission statement is: "The trials and tribulations of a 50+ fashionista with Cerebral Palsy who wants women of all ages and abilities to look and feel beautiful." I knew I needed to draw Alicia in her wheelchair, a new challenge! Here's my process:

First, I roughly traced over a screenshot from her post, in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet:

I made an extra white layer (set at 50% opacity) in-between the photo and the drawing layer so that I could see both while I was working.

I then printed out my line work and drew over that in my sketchbook

I like this sketch too -- it's more "real life" vs fashiony.

If you follow my Instagram or Twitter, I posted a totally different sketch to announce who was my 52 Pick-me-up muse for the week. It's Alicia standing (she DOES stand in some of her shots). I got that one colored up this morning:

Monday, July 29, 2013

I'm happy to announce that I finally opened my ASOS Marketplace shop. [No longer available on ASOS. Contact me directly]
Two pairs of the Crazy Legs tights are now available worldwide.
There may be another printing in more sizes, if popularity demands it. Not sure yet.

Here they are, packaged next to the art that inspired them

I took them out for a spin to the closing party at SCA Gallery in Pomona, where the above print was on exhibit.
There, I met up with Leslie, who came in full mod:

Kelsi Smith, founder of TPOLA, really outdid herself this year. There was a burger/taco bar, sundae and dessert stations and some wicked mixed drinks!
[Sorry, yet another reporting fail -- no photos. I don't think you want to see my melted sundae, do you? Really?] Lulu's, Sole Society, and Chilli Beans all had setups adjacent to the pool.
There was also a special private gifting suite/patio upstairs:

Everyone loved the patio's groovy retro swing chairs! So good for posing!

What came to mind, as I thought about the event, was the difference in my sketching this year compared to last.

2012 on the iPad, 2013 starts out analog

Kelsi last year on my iPad

This year, I set myself the challenge to improve my fashion sketching and to work out a method for "on the fly" live sketching. I have figured out that I'm most comfortable sketching with a brush marker on paper and then coloring the drawing in Photoshop. Color/print reference I get with photos -- my own or Instagram/Twitter feeds. Hashtags such as #tpola4thpicnic make it super easy to get intel!

Severo pointed out that my cute new *tote from Thursday Friday (carrying my emergency change of shoes) matched my ensemble. This was a gift I picked up last Sunday at the Two Point Oh! LA 4th Annual Picnic. It held all my free loot from the gifting suite (which I'll elaborate upon later). This is as close as I'll ever get to an "it" bag -- not being one obsessed with designer bags.

a look inside -- fully lined, very nice

If you like the concept (a fancy bag printed onto a canvas tote), click on over to Thursday Friday.
They are offering a 40% discount to my readers. Use the code: TWOPOINTOH!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

I had no idea that I have this many floral shirts! Half of them I got from Larry last year...

Some people can pull it off seemingly effortlessly (Sacramento of Mis Papelicos comes to mind),
others not so much (I will refrain from pointing fingers).
Is it possible to have a method to mixing? Perhaps!

I thought to look to interior designers -- they constantly have to juggle colors, textures, and patterns. And, since the body is the home for the soul... why not decorate it with the same deliberation?

I found a nifty book on Amazon, Fabrique Technique, where Jennifer Birdsong Raffo lays out a system for mixing what she defines as the six room design characteristics: Color, Pattern shape, Pattern size, Contrast, Texture, Sheen.
I'm thinking we can leave out Pattern Shape, Texture, and Sheen and concentrate on the three others.
Oh, wait, there's the small issue of the garments -- three skirts that coordinate nicely won't do you much good!

See? Complicated!

For this post, I'm concentrating on florals, but you could use these guidelines for any sort of pattern mixing.

Step 1: Color
Choose your primary floral garment-- for Jennifer's system, it will have at least 3 colors.
Make note of the colors. Your next patterned choice should have at least two of them and your third will have a color [or more] common with the first two.Now is the time to abandon the concept of mixing three florals if you can't get the colors to sync!

Step 2: Pattern Size
Variety in scale is easier on the eye. Ideally [for a room], you would have small, medium, large.

Step 3: Contrast
Dark, medium, light

Wow! It works!

Definitely worth a try -- If nothing else, it's a new way to mix things from your closet!Have you shared your experiments with the 52 Pick-me-up link-up? Please do!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Citizen Rosebud is hosting a Shoe Shine party and I must join in... it's Thursday in California, but it's Friday somewhere, right? She's asking us to share the shoes that make us Summer Stars and this week my studio clogs are in the limelight.
I took photos of them during my week at art camp, as they became encrusted with paint:

What did I paint? Bella in the pines as Citizen Zombie! She may eventually get more lively looking, but I've got to wait for the paint to dry... and you will have to wait for an image (unless you check my Instagram feed).

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

I had grand plans for a post all about floral mixing. Maybe on Sunday when I get home from art camp, because I'm too tired to get it together! And I didn't bring any floral garments with me [oops].
How about if I give you some photos of real flowers that I pulled from my iPhone?

I'd love to see what sort of floral combos you can orchestrate! Please share below.